HU SHI (1891-1962)
Calligraphy in Running Script
Scroll, mounted for framing, ink on paper
51.5 x 26.5 cm. (20 ¹⁄₄ x 10 ³⁄₈ in.)
Inscribed and signed, with one seal of the artist
Dedicated to Tingfu (Tsiang Ting-fu)

Jiang Tingfu (Tsiang Tingfu, 1895–1965) was a renowned Chinese historian, educator, and diplomat from Shaoyang, Hunan. He studied in the United States, attending Oberlin College before earning a doctorate in history from Columbia University. Upon returning to China, he taught at Nankai University and Tsinghua University, where he helped introduce modern historical methods and became a leading scholar of modern Chinese history. His influential work Chinese Modern History reshaped understanding of China’s encounter with the modern world.

During the Sino-Japanese War, Jiang entered public service and diplomacy, holding positions such as Director of Political Affairs in the Executive Yuan, Ambassador to the Soviet Union, and China’s representative to the United Nations. Combining scholarly rigor with diplomatic experience, he played an important role in both intellectual and international affairs. His broad global perspective and pioneering contributions to historical scholarship secured his place among the most influential Chinese intellectuals of the twentieth century.